Hailsham Town 3 v 5 Broadbridge Heath

Saturday 24th January 2015
Sussex County League Division One
The Beaconsfield, Hailsham
Admission: £5.00
Programme: 50p
Attendance: 58
Match Rating: 4

I originally intended to only watch the second half of this game, following a 1.30 kick off cup match at Herstmonceux. However, it soon became apparent that no game was being played at Lime Cross today, and so I continued on to Hailsham to take in the full 90 minutes.

Today would be my third visit to The Beaconsfield, although the first in daylight. There have been no noticeable changes since my most recent visit last season, so it remains a pleasant ground to visit, with a friendly feel to the club, and the ground being lined by trees down one side, a hedge along half of the other, tennis courts behind one of the goals, and nestled well away from roads.

Both clubs are having unremarkable seasons so far. Hailsham went into this game in 16th place in the 20 team division, with 21 points from 20 games, although they are 16 points clear of the bottom two. Broadbridge Heath are in twelfth place, with 29 points from 22 games, in their first season in Division One following promotion as runners-up, and just their second season either at this level. When the two teams met in late September, Broadbridge Heath won 4-1.

On a rare bright and sunny afternoon, but with a bitterly cold breeze, the recent prolonged heavy rain had certainly taken its toll on the pitch. Although looking in great condition at kick off, thanks to the players warming up on the adjacent cricket field, the pitch was extremely heavy and slippery, with players regularly losing their footing. So considerable credit to both teams for producing a highly entertaining game full of attacking intent. It was Hailsham who took the lead on 17 minutes, when some slick passing approaching the area culminated in the ball being laid on in the path of Craig Norman who slotted the ball low across the keeper and into the far corner of the net. Just three minutes later and they were given the chance to double their lead, when they were awarded a penalty after a quick turn in the box drew a foul. Jamie Salvidge drilled the penalty into the right side of the net. At this stage, Hailsham looked in complete control and full of confidence, but Broadbridge Heath pulled a goal back on 29 minutes, Jack Legrande shooting low into the net despite a defender on the line almost getting in the way, after an initial shot was parried into Legrande's path. Four minutes later and the visitors levelled the scores with an excellent goal, Jake Holmes dribbling the ball inside and towards goal before powering a shot high into the net from the edge of the area. It got even better for the visitors on 37 minutes when some static defending in the area allowed Ollie Moore to poke the ball home on the turn.

2-3 was how it remained at the interval, with the game evenly poised. Hailsham had a great chance to get back on level terms within a couple of minutes of the restart, when the keeper failed to gather a low free kick to the near post, but a couple of goal bound efforts in quick succession were blocked. Apart from that, Hailsham struggled to attack, and Broadbridge Heath gave themselves some real daylight on 72 minutes when Mark Bevan placed a low shot beyond the keeper's dive. Six minutes from time and Hailsham gave themselves a glimmer of hope of salvaging a point, when Norman swept the ball home following an initial save by the keeper, and for a while it looked like they might yet claim a point as they produced wave after wave of attacks. But those hopes were extinguished a minute from the end when Moore fired a free kick high into the net down the middle when the keeper, not for the first time today, might have done better. And so a seesaw game ended with three points for the visitors.

Mansfield Town 2 v 3 Exeter City

Football League Two

Saturday 17th January 2015

Admission: £7.00

Programme: £3.00

Attendance: 3,881

Match Rating: 4

Today I was inspired to tick off another of the 92 once I learned that Mansfield Town were selling tickets at roughly a third of their standard prices for this game (and two others) - usual ticket prices this season being £22 on the day, or £20 if purchased in advance.

Field Mill is conveniently located about a ten minute walk from Mansfield train station, from which one certainly can't miss the stadium, with its large main stand clearly visible, standing high above the surrounding housing and retail park. Despite the imposing nature of the stand, and plenty of attractive signage around the ground, inside Field Mill is a rather dull stadium, devoid of any traditional character apart from a disused stand. Facilities are good though - apart from a very faintly audible PA system. The main stand, where i sat today, is a modern two tiered affair, with excellent views of the action and with no obstructing pillars. Behind both goals are much smaller, modern single tiered stands, but again with unobstructed views. The remaining length is out of bounds, with a small stand straddling the halfway line that is boarded up with advertising boards after the stand was declared unsafe some years ago, and the advertising boards continue towards each corner flag. The programme, was impressive, consisting of 76 pages, printed on good quality paper with a stiffened matt cover, attractively laid out, and there was plenty of interest to read regarding all areas of the club, as well as six pages devoted to today's visitors.

Mansfield have had a difficult season so far, and went into this game in 20th position, four points above the relegation zone having won and drawn six of their 24 games. They have lost their last two league games, and picked up just one win and two draws from their last six games. Exeter were in tenth plach, winning 10 and drawing seven of their 26 games, and are just two points off a playoff berth. They have been in very poor form recently though, losing their last three games, and four of their last five. When the two teams met earlier in the season in Devon, Mansfield won 2-1.

On a bright but bitterly cold afternoon, this proved to be a most enjoyable game to watch, which really could have gone either way, but Mansfield will wonder how on earth they finished this match on the losing side. They started strongly, and had their first of half a dozen goal bound efforts cleared off the line in the eighth minute. After the home side dominated the opening half hour but failed to convert their attacking intent into goals, Exeter came more into the game and took the lead on 36 minutes. The ball was chipped into the box from the right, and Tom Nichols glanced a header over the keeper and into the far corner of the net. That seemed to set the home side back for the remainder of the half, but no doubt that Exeter were fortunate to be ahead at the break.

Mansfield came out full of attacking intent in the second half, forcing two more goal line clearances, good saves from the keeper and desperate blocks from defenders, until Mansfield finally got a deserved equaliser on 57 minutes, Billy Kee heading home a corner by Chris Clements. The home side were really in the ascendancy now, driven on by their fans, and took the lead on 68 minutes, when Kee knocked the ball down into the feet of Vadaine Oliver, who showed good composure in taking a touch before smashing the ball low past the keeper. Mansfield undoubtedly deserved their lead, and still against the run of play, Exeter got back on level terms on 77 minutes. Liam Sercombe drilled a corner low to the near post and Scott Bennett hit the ball first time into the net. The game then became much more even and end to end, but the home side gifted the visitors the chance to go back into the lead on 83 minutes when a suicidal short range back pass by Martin Riley close to the byline resulted in the keeper bringing down David Wheeler, and the referee awarded a penalty. Eight minutes after coming on as a sub, Alex Nicholls drilled the ball low into the bottom left corner, despite the keeper going the right way. That was the fatal blow as Exeter saw out the remaining minutes comfortably, for what was a real smash and grab victory. This was an extremely entertaining game of football to watch, with 35 shots on goal, 22 from Mansfield, 17 being on target, 9 from Mansfield, but football can be a cruel game, with Mansfield dropping to within a point of the relegation zone although the remain in 20th place, whilst Exeter rise two places to eighth and now just a point adrift of a play off spot, albeit having played a game more than the teams immediately above them.

Video highlights of the game can be found here

Brighton and Hove Albion Ladies 6 v 2 West Ham United Ladies

Sunday 11th January 2015
FA Women's Cup Second Round
Withdean Stadium, Brighton
Admission: £3.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 120 (estimate)
Match Rating: 4

After watching Brighton and Hove Albion's men's team win at The Valley yesterday, today I decided to watch their women's team, motivated by the opportunity to watch a game at the stadium that hosted the men's team for all but two of the 14 seasons between leaving the Goldstone Ground and moving to Falmer.

The Withdean Stadium is about a ten minute walk from Preston Park train station, and unsurprisingly looks quite different from how it did when it hosted Football League matches. The permanent covered stand with eight rows of seating running along one length remains, but the uncovered stand along the opposite length has been removed, as has the infamous uncovered stands housing the away fans with a very distant view of the action in a corner behind one of the goals, although uncovered seating behind the other goal remains, not that it would be suitable for watching football from, located behind the running track. Whilst it was an unpopular and inadequate stadium to host Football League matches, it's actually a rather pleasant place to watch a lower profile football match such as this. Nestling beneath a woody hill, there is rather an Alpine feel to the place, and along the length where the uncovered seating used to be, one can now stand along a tarmac path above the pitch, giving a good elevated view of the action. Although Brighton and Hove Albion's women's team played its first team fixture s here up to last season, this season they have generally played at Lancing's Culver Road. A 12 page programme was produced for this match which looked attractive, covered the basics and had a couple of interesting articles to read.

This certainly had the makings of an interesting game, between the current leaders and the fifth placed team in the Women's Premier League Southern Division, the third tier of the women's game. Brighton are the leaders, having won nine and drawn one of their twelve league games, whilst West Ham have won seven and drawn one of their eleven games.

On an overcast afternoon, it was the visitors who started on the front foot, doing most of the attacking and with the home side guilty of many unforced errors with wayward passes or dallying too much with the ball. West Ham deservedly took the lead on 26 minutes. Vicky Kinsman played a diagonal ball to Emma Sherwood in the area, and she slotted the ball through the keeper's legs and into the net. They almost doubled their lead within a minute, when a Brighton defender played a suicidal short back pass to her keeper despite the close attention of Kinsman, who tackled the keeper but couldn't force the ball into the net. They did double their lead on 31 minutes though, when Sarah McCrea struck a ball goalwards from 25 yards and although the keeper got a touch on the ball as it went over her head, the ball hit the back of the net. Brighton were shockingly poor up to now, perhaps shocked by a very physical and aggressive approach by the Hammers, but after a group huddle following the second goal, they finally started to spring to life. They pulled a goal back on 36 minutes, when Jay Blackie picked the ball up following a low cross from the left, and her shot hit the inside of the left post before rolling just over the line. Brighton were back on level terms on 40 minutes when Kirsty Barton strode forward before drilling the ball low just inside the post from the edge of the area.

Brighton were probably fortunate to go into the interval on level terms, but they took the lead within a minute of the restart when Charley Boswell sent in a low cross from the left into the area and Lucy Somes tapped the ball home at the far post. Brighton scored their fourth on 50 minutes, when a shot on goal by Fliss Gibbons was diverted into the net at full stretch by Boswell, and put the result beyond doubt just before the hour mark when Somes fired in at the near post following a low cross. Brighton were completely dominant now, the only surprise being it took until the 86th minute for them to score their sixth. Barton saw her initial header saved by the keeper but managed to prod the ball home. And so it was Brighton who progress to the Third Round after a quite remarkable comeback, and full credit to them for transforming such a poor performance in the first half hour into a commanding one for the last hour. Indeed, this was a thoroughly enjoyable game to watch, one of the most enjoyable I had watched this season, and was a fabulous advert for women's football.

Charlton Athletic 0 v 1 Brighton and Hove Albion

Saturday 10th January 2015

Football League Championship

The Valley, Charlton

Admission: Season Ticket

Programme: £3.00

Attendance: 17,865 (3,123 away fans)

Today would be one of those awkward days of slightly divided loyalties. With Brighton being a club that has shared the pain of a nomadic existence after being forced out of their spiritual home,  shares a common strong rivalry with Crystal Palace, and Sussex's only Football League club, it's a club I've always had a significant soft spot for. A diplomatic draw always seems the ideal outcome on days like this.

Charlton's great start to the season, when they were unbeaten in their first 13 league games until late October really is now seeming like a very distant memory now, having not won a game since, a run stretching 11 games. Since their last home game on Boxing Day, Charlton lost 0-3 at Ipswich, who thereby completed the league double, and went out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle, losing 1-2 at home to Blackburn. Charlton went into this game in 13th place, with 31 points from 24 games. The club were given a boost in midweek, with the signing of Tony Watt, inevitably from Standard Liege. After a disastrous first half of the season under Sami Hyppia, hopes are high that the shrewd appointment of Chris Hughton will bring about an upturn in fortuned for the Seagulls, and he started with a 0-2 win at Brentford in the FA Cup to set up a glamour home tie against Arsenal. They came into this game in 21st place, only outside of the relegation zone on goal difference. When the two sides met at the Amex in late August, the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

With strong gusty winds making conditions feel extremely cold, the first half was a very forgettable affair, Brighton having more of the possession as they looked to press high up the field, but it was Charlton who had the better chances to score. Charlton should have been given a penalty when Lewis Dunk handled a cross by Johann Gudmundsson, but the referee waved play on.

The second half saw slightly more attacking intent by both teams, and within a couple of minutes, Brighton's Sam Baldock received a pass inside the area, took a touch and his powerful strike on goal was well saved by Charlton keeper Neil Etheridge. Soon after, Watt came off the bench, and on the hour mark he set up a great chance for Charlton to take the lead, passing the ball to Chris Solly who struck a fabulous shot from 25 yards but saw the ball come back out off the underside of the bar. That misfortune was compounded within a couple of minutes when the visitors took the lead. Solly March fired a free kick from the right wing to the far post, over the keeper, and Rowan Ince headed the ball into the net. Although Charlton had the odd shot on goal in the remaining half hour, Brighton held on fairly comfortably to the delight of the packed away end and rise to 19th place in the table and three points clear of the relegation zone following Millwall's defeat. Charlton dropped to fourteenth, with play-off aspirations seeming like a very distant memory now. Indeed, now they are closer to the relegation zone (8 points) than a playoff berth (10 points). Following another on the whole flat performance with very little goal scoring threat, the first calls for Bob Peeters to be sacked have begun to surface, however in truth, the current struggles were fairly predictable with a squad which looked very thin and has been further decimated by injuries and suspensions to key players. Surprisingly, it was announced on Sunday evening that Peeters had been relieved of his duties, which seems a very hasty decision after just 25 games - time will tell if it turns out to be the correct one....

Video highlights of this game can be found here

Lydd Town 0 v 2 Bearsted

Saturday 3rd January 2015
Kent Invicta League
Lindsey Field, Lydd
Admission: £3.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 92
Match Rating: 3

Following a beautifully sunny day yesterday, heavy rain fell overnight and into this morning to wipe out the vast majority of non-league fixtures in the south-east today. Rather surprisingly, the pitch at Lydd passed a morning pitch inspection - surprising as it was one of the first to be called off last Saturday - and so I headed to the Romney Marsh, for what would be a historic occasion for the club, with the first game to be played under newly installed floodlights.

The Lindsey Field is located on the southern extremity of Lydd, about a ten minute walk from the town centre, and is certainly an exposed location, with the flat expanse of Denge Marsh (part of the Romney Marsh) stretching as far as Dungeness Power Station over three miles away, which is clearly visible from the ground, and with no protection from the winds off of the English Channel. The ground is very neat and tidy, with an attractive pavilion clubhouse located immediately behind one goal, and the pitch is fully railed off in club red and green coloured stripes. Hard standing is only available behind the clubhouse end and along one length (along which one can also obtain a slightly elevated view by standing on top of a short bank), with only grass standing around the rest of the pitch. Although the club has gone some way to meeting ground regulations with the installation of floodlights, there is still much work to do. There are no stands here, so no seating (apart from a couple of picnic tables) and no cover (apart from the area immediate in front of the clubhouse), and one can easily watch the game without paying, either from the road passing close by the ground, or by entering through the low barbed wire fence which has some gaps that one can easily pass through to get into the ground - as several people did today. The 24 page programme was a good effort for this level, attractively laid out and with plenty to read about the club and how their season has panned out so far, and only a very small amount of advertising.

After finishing as runners-up in the Kent Invicta League last season, Lydd are having another great season so far this time around, leading the table by a point from reigning champions Hollands and Blair, with 14 wins and a draw from their seventeen games, and have won their last eight league games straight. Bearsted have not played a league games since 15th November, but were unbeaten in their last five league games and went into this game in fifth place, with eight wins and three draws from their 14 games, and with three games in hand over all four teams above them - although they were ten points behind fourth placed Sheppey United. Today's team met in the league back in August, with the home side winning 2-0.

Although blue skies and bright sunshine appeared about half an hour before kick off, they soon gave way again to grey skies by the time kick-off arrived, with heavy drizzle in a strong, biting crosswind for a period during the first half. Lydd will really kick themselves that they did not go into the interval with a lead, looking threatening throughout, particularly from set-pieces. With just two minutes on the clock, they had the ball in the back of the net, when the ball was headed home from a free kick by Gary Lockyer, but the referee adjudged that he had pushed the defender in winning the header. On 19 minutes, a glancing header by Dave Cook from a free kick dropped just wide of the post, whilst on 26 minutes, yet another header from a free kick was headed off the line. Bearsted were competitive but barely ventured into the final third, and one wondered if Lydd would live to regret their wastefulness in the first half.

Although conditions remained dry for the second half, it became bitterly cold, and just three minutes into the second half, Lydd were indeed left to rue their earlier wastefulness when the visitors took the lead. A cross from the left by Andy Hart was volleyed into the net by Ollie Bartrum, a very well-controlled finish, with the the ball volleyed at waist height. Bearsted doubled their lead on 55 minutes, when a low cross from the right by Tom Brown couldn't be intercepted until it reached Hart at the far post, who tapped the ball gently just out of the keeper's reach and into the net. For the rest of the game, Bearsted looked fairly comfortable as Lydd tried to muster attacks, but did not look anywhere near as threatening as they had in the first half, and Bearsted actually looked the more likely to make one of their rarer forays forward count. But the score remained 0-2 at the final whistle, in what could be a hammer blow to Lydd's title chances, as they remain a point ahead of Hollands and Blair, but have now played a game more.